Pages

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 66

Picture Book: Knots
on a Counting Rope

Authors: Bill Martin Jr. &
John Archambault

Illustrator: Ted
Rand

Summary: A Native American boy
begs his grandfather to tell the story of the boy’s birth once again. Through prompting, the birth story and more are told: During a wind storm,
the boy was born sickly & blind, but a pair of horses seemed to give him
strength so he was named Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses at his naming ceremony. When a foal was born, it was given to the boy so he learned to swiftly ride through the trails despite his blindness. In a horse race, the boy and his horse do not win, but many spectators are amazed. At the end of the book, you learn that each knot in the rope
represents a re-telling of the story until the boy can tell it himself.

Hanna’s Comments: This
is a complicated but beautiful story that illustrates several themes: the loving bonds across
generations, the importance of owning our origin stories, the power in a name,
and the resilience of those who courageously adapt to their limitations. This would be a powerful story for grandparents to read to their grandchildren before sharing birth/origin
stories. Faith and scripture stories could easily follow.

Publisher & Date Published: Holt & Company, 1987

Age and Grade Appropriateness: 5 and up, K and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other
than Book: Audio Cd, videos on Youtube (one version read by 2
professional actors)

About Me

Contact Me

Name

Email
*

Message
*

Search This Blog

Support Future Picture Book Theology Projects!

PBT is a joyful labor of love, requiring a huge investment of my time, energy, and money. If you have enjoyed or benefited from the PBT website, please consider saying thanks via a donation. I like knowing that my work is appreciated. Hanna